Improvement in pencil-holders



E. w cmovn. PENCIL-HOLDER. No. 187,621. .Patente.d Feb. 20, 1877.

UNITED Y ES EDWIN W. GROVE, on PARIS, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PENCIL-HOLDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 187,62Ldated February20, 1877; application filed October 30, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWIN W. GROVE, of Paris,in the county of Henry and State of Tennessee, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Pencil-Holders; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same, rei erence being had to the accompanying drawing, whichforms a part of this specification, and in which- Figures 1, 2, and 3represent perspective view of my improved pencil-holder or attachment.Fig. 4 is an end view. Fig. 5 is the top of a pencil, prepared toreceive the holder. Fig. 6 represents the holder attached upon thepencil; and Fig. 7 shows the method of attaching a pencil having myimproved holder to the coat.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

This invention relates to that class of devices that are used incombination with a leadpencil, pencil-holder or penholder, for thepurpose of securing it conveniently upon the outside or inside ot'thecoat or vest; and it consists in the combination, with a pen or pencilholder, of a coiled spring, having sharpened prongs or spurs, that. mayreadily be inserted into the lining of the coat, which is securedpermanently upon and removed with the pencil or pencil-holder,substantially as hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in.theclaim.

In the drawing, A is a lead-pencil, which may be round, hexagonal, flat,or of any other suitable shape. B is a spiral spring, made of iron,steel, brass, hard-rubber, or any other suitable material ofsufficientspringiness or elasticity.

This coiled spring may be round, hexagonal, or flattened, so as tocorrespondto the shape of the pencil when it is slipped over the end, asshown in Fig. 6.

Both ends of spring B are sharpened, and

bent so as to form projecting prongs b, as Shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 7,or these points may be bent so as to form hooks b, as represented inFigs. 2 and 6. A

The wire forming the spring is slightly bent or indented at the top, asshown in Fig. 4, so as to form a catch, a, which, when the spring isslipped over the pencil, will fit into a notch, 0, made in the top ofthe pencil for its reception. By this means the holder may readily beattached upon, or detached from, the pencil, which is prevented fromslipping or falling out of it bythe catch a and notch c.

From the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with Fig. 7, themethod of fastening the pencil upon, or detaching it from, the coat orother garment will be readily understood.

When a holder with straight points or prongs is used, the pencil isattached to the inside lining 'of the coat by lifting the lapel with theleft hand; then, with your right hand, which holds the pencil, stick thebottom point into the lining, or cloth, pull down a little, which drawsthe spring together, and then the other point will, when the hold uponthe pencil is released, of itself spring into the cloth, which fastensthe pencil securely in a vertical position. To detach it, the operationof fastening is simply reversed.

When hooks are used upon the ends of the spring, instead of 'prongs, thepencil is fastened to the coat by inserting the lower hook first, thenpushing the pencil up through the spring a little, and slipping intheupper hook. In both cases, the operation of fastening or unfastening thepencil is only the work of a second.

Instead of having only one prong or hook at 6&011: end of the Spring,there may be Several, so that if one should break or other-f wise becomeunserviceable the others may do the work.

The advantages of my improved holder are,

that, when used, it prevents the losing or mislaying of the pencil, andalso prevents breakage of the point, as when the pencil is carried inthe pocket. It is readily attached to or detached from a garment withoutthe least injuryto it. It may be adapted to any size or kind ofpencilsor pencil-holders and can be made so cheaply that one can beattached to each pencil by the pencil-manufacturer without addingperceptibly to the cost thereof. Being secured permanently upon the endof the pencil, it is not liable to be lost or mislaid, or to be leftsticking to the coat, but

- issalways at hand ready for use.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States The combination of the holder orfastener B, having prongs or hooks b b, and catch a, with the pencil orpencil-case A, having notch c, substantially in: the manner and for thepurpose hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim theforegoing' as my own invention I havehereto affixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses: EDWIN W. GROVE.

R. a W DUNLAP,- WM. M. JANES.

